Welcome Kindergarten Parents

1. WelcomeKindergarten Parents To Mrs. Diaz’s Class 2014-2015

2. Classroom Schedule This is what a typical day in our classroom looks like.

3. Specials Specials is the name we use for classes outside the “normal” classroom. The specials at our school include; PE, Music, Library, Computers, Art, and Guidance. We have a regular specials time everyday and an extra special time 3 days in a 6 day rotation. Extra Specials (2:10-2:40) PE Music Rest time Rest time Art Rest time Regular Specials (10:10-11:10) • Library/Computers • Art • PE/Music • Computers/Library • PE/Music • Library/Computers

4. Classroom Parties and Birthdays • All treats brought MUST be prepackaged and not homemade (addressed in the student handbook) • Parties will begin at 2:30 for most parties, the exception being Halloween. The room parent will be in charge of getting volunteers to help with this. • PTO- make sure you go by their table and learn more about it and get signed up and involved. • Birthday parties will be done at 2:30. Please drop treats off in the office before 2:30.

5. Healthy Snacks and Show and Tell • The kitchen will provide healthy snacks beginning the first week of all day classes. We encourage all students to at least TRY the snacks. (examples: kiwi, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots apples, ect.) • We will enjoy our healthy snack while classmates share Show and Tell. • Please practice with your child what they will share on their show and tell day. • Students will answer 2-3 questions abut their show and tell item/topic. We will only do Show and Tell until Christmas break.

6. Field Trips • We take 2 field trips a year to Greenbush. 1 in the fall and 1 in the spring. At conferences I will have the photo permission slip and a lunch option form for you to sign, so please be sure to attend your child’s scheduled conference time. • This year we are also looking at taking a few Filed trips around the community. We plan to visit the Fire Station, Police Department, and Post Office, among others.

7. Grade Cards, AIMSWEB, BIST, and Classroom Management Grade cards will go home for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters for your Kindergartener. Please be sure that you take the grade card out and go over it with your child, then sign and return the envelope ONLY. The students will take the AIMSWEB tests 3 times this year (Fall, Winter, and Spring). These test provide us the data needed to place the students in the most appropriate MTSS group, as well as allowing us an efficient way to track their progress. Some students will need to be progress monitored every 2 to 4 weeks between the tests. I will explain this more at parent teacher conferences where you will see the first data provided by the Fall test. BIST is our district wide Behavior Intervention plan. The students will be given the classroom rules (no talking while the teacher is talking, ……) The first time I have to redirect them will be a verbal warning with no other action. The second time I redirect them I will have them move their clip down to yellow on the clip chart, and I may talk with them about sitting in the safe seat. The third redirect will be another clip down to orange, safe seat or buddy room. Finally, the 4th redirect will result in a clip down to red, a call to you, and either a buddy room visit or a focus room visit. If problems are consistent and violence is involved a visit with Mrs. McCartney will take place.

8. Classroom Rewards and Dicipline Our classroom behavior will be tracked by the clip chart mentioned previously. Students may move their clip up for kind and helpful behavior. This can occur even if a child has had to move their clip down earlier in the day; however the color the clip is on at the end of the day does not always reflect whether a buddy room or focus room visit occurred- that is determined by redirects given through out the day (as discussed with our BIST policy) At the end of each day I will give the students who’s clips were on green or higher a treat. This could be a sticker, a skittle, animal cracker, or sucker, among other small things. I also use a program called Class Dojo. This is an online interactive program that allows students to build positive points to earn rewards. This will be done mostly on an individual basis, but occasionally I will allow them to earn points in their table teams or center groups. I also expect my students to have good manners even when they are not with me. To encourage this the class can earn compliments from others teachers to complete our “Complement Jar”. Once a compliment jar has 10 compliments we will have a “compliment party”.

9. Reading Folders, Take Home Folders, and Homework • Reading folders will begin going home in September after parent teacher conferences. You will see poems coming home in the weeks leading up to conferences, these will be the same types of poems that will come home in the reading folder. They are due every Friday (Thursday if there is no school Friday). At the end of every quarter there will be a Reading Celebration (examples: bounce houses, extra computer or iPad time, bowling) for those students who have returned their reading folder signed every week.I will explain this more at parent teacher conferences so please be sure to attend your child’s scheduled time. • I provide 1 take home folder for every student. There will be a “Right back to school” side and a “Left at home” side. I will put notes and your child’s work in these everyday. Please clean them out EVERY night and return what needs to be returned. If your child loses the folder or it rips you will be responsible for replacing it. This is the most efficient way I can ensure important information gets to you. • Math homework will not be given with every lesson so please be sure to check for it each night and help your child with it. If they can bring it back the next day then they will get a sticker or their sticker charts. We will be reading small books in class. When those books come home please take time to read them with your child and keep them to build a library of books your child can eventually read on his/her own. They will be focused around the sight words we will learn this year.

10. Personal Information and Other things to work on at home • Please practices you’re your child’s birthday, FULL name, parent/guardian names, address, and the phone number you want them to use for emergencies. I will checking these things quarterly, as they are important things your child needs to know. • Please help your child practice tying his/her shoes, and double knot them. Once a child has successfully tied their own shoes for me 3 times they will sign there name on an “I can tie my shoes” poster. Buttons and zippers can also be tricky for smaller hands, please practice these items at home as well. • Germs spread very easily, so please work with your child on keeping their hands and fingers out of their mouth. Nose picking is another very distracting habit, so if your child is a nose picker please work with them on NOT doing it and getting a tissue and blowing their nose instead.

11. Attendance and Tardiness • It is very important that your child attend school everyday. If your child has to miss school for ANY reason please call and notify Miss Ann in the office and myself. • Not only is it important for your child to be in class everyday but it is important they are in class on time. Please make sure to have your child to school no later than 8:00.

12. Safety • All doors except the front doors will be locked during school hours. • You will need to use the front doors and check in with the office. Please do not come down to the classroom or playground without discussing it with me first. • We will have a fire drill every month, as well as scheduled tornado and intruder drills. For our classroom in the even of a fire we will exit through the playground doors; tornado we will go to the basement bathrooms and offices, and intruders we will go to our bathroom. • If we need to evacuate the building you will be notified when and where to pick up your child. It is very important that you keep your phone number and address up to date with Miss Ann in the office.

13. Drop off and Dismissal • Students can be dropped off at either the front doors or the north door with the awning. Once students are inside they will walk to the gym and sit in our assigned row, which is the first black line as you enter the gym from the first set of stairs. The first you may walk your child to the gym, but we ask that you begin letting them go on their own after that. If they are having a hard time saying goodbye I am available, as well as our counselor, Mr. Jay and Mrs. McCartney, to help them. If your child eats breakfast at school they will drop their bags off in the gym before going to the cafeteria. • Please be sure to check how your child will be going home on the form coming around. I will need to know bus numbers (if you are not sure you can find out in the office), and if they are parent pick up I will need to know who is picking them up. ANY changes to how your child gets home need to go through the office and myself. • If your child is a buss rider please allow them to ride the bus during the first week of half days. Kindergartners will be the only students on the bus for dismissal that first week. A Kindergarten teacher from our building will be on the bus with them helping them with rules and procedures.

14. Recess We will have recess whenever the weather permits. Most days we will have a morning and an afternoon recess. Please dress your child appropriate for the weather, sending jackets for the cooler mornings in fall and spring and heavier coats for winter. Please do not send your child to school in flip flops or high heels. They are not safe shoes to wear on the playground equipment, the stairs, or for PE.

15. Remind 101, Email Address, PG Video Waiver • Remind 101 is a communication tool I use to communicate important information. It is free. You can sign up to receive emails or texts. Your number/email address does not show up to ANYONE. You cannot reply to it but can send me a separate email if you need to. Please take time before you leave to sign up fro this, I can help you if you need help. • Also please list your email address on the form going around. I use the email addresses to send you digital books we make in class, or if I need to ask you a quick question I will often use email as it is the most easily accessible to me during the day. I will not share this information with anyone else, but it is the easiest way to share the digital books with everyone. • Lastly, we will occasionally watch a video for completing our “Compliment Jar”, birthdays, and holidays. In front of you is a PG Video Waiver. I try to use only G rated movies, however there are a few that are rated PG. This could include but not limited to: Frozen, Planes, Where the Wild Things Are, Brave, The Incredibles, Land of Oz; Dorthy’s Return, Ice Age, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, etc.) This is another very good reason to sign up for Remind, as I will be letting you know Compliment Party dates and if we chose to watch a movie what the rating will be. It will NEVER be higher than a PG rating. If there is ever a time when you would rather have your child NOT watch a specific movie please let me know.

16. Supplies • 4 Pencils, Laddie or Ticonderoga • Dixon w/eraser • 1 Eraser, large Pink Pearl • 2 Washable markers, Classic, set/8 • 6 Glue sticks, Elmer/Prang • 1 Scissors, Fiskars, pointed tip, 5” • 1 Crayons, 24 pack regular • 1 Crayons, jumbo, 8 pack • 3 Facial tissue • 1 Plastic school box, 8 X 5 • 1 Backpack, no wheels

17. Communication • My email: kdiaz@usd250.org • My phone: 620-235-3140 or 316-259-8569 • Class web site: Mrsdiazclass.com

18. Questions?

19. Let’s Have aGreat Year!

20. Learn About Our Class • Introduce self • Class Schedule • Specials • Classroom parties/birthdays • Healthy snacks and Show/Tell • Field trips • Grade cards, Aimsweb, BIST • Homework/ Reading Folders/Take home folders/Predicatbale books • Personal Info and other things to work on • Attendance/Tardiness • Safety • Drop off and dismissal • Recess • Email addresses and Remind 101 • Video waiver